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Ministerial Meetings (Energy Industry)
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what meetings (a) she and (b) her senior departmental officials have had with Enron and its subsidiaries in the last two years. [32434]
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what occasions she and her Department have held meetings since May 1997 with representatives from (a) BP, (b) Shell, (c) Exxon- Mobil, (d) Enron, (e) Conoco, (f) Texaco and (g) TotalFinaElf; if she will state the purpose of each meeting; and if she will provide details of the outcomes and agreements reached as a result of each meeting. [33219]
Margaret Beckett: Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and analysis. All such contacts are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code, the Civil Service Code and Guidance for Civil Servants: Contacts with Lobbyists. Some of these discussions take place on a confidential basis, and in order to preserve confidentiality, it is not the normal practice of Governments to release details of specific meetings with private individuals or companies.
EAGA
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the complaints procedures EAGA have in force. [33130]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 5 February 2002]: EAGA Partnership is one of the two scheme managers for the Government's Home Energy Efficiency Scheme
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(HEES) in England. HEES is marketed as the Warm Front Team and is the Government's main programme for tackling fuel poverty in the private sector.
EAGA Partnership's complaint procedure is accredited to British Standard ISO 9002. A copy of the procedure is attached and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House. EAGA is currently reviewing its complaint system and an updated version will be sent to the hon. Member for Stroud and placed in the Library of the House.
Over 250,000 householders have been assisted since the launch of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) on 1 June 2000. The number of complaints received by the Department since that date concerning EAGA Partnership's three regions is 330 or 0.1 per cent. of work completed.
EU Noise Directive
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the EU Noise Directive; and what restrictions this will place on sources of excessive noise apart from aircraft. [34633]
Mr. Meacher: The proposed directive relating to the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise would establish common methods for measuring and assessing environmental noise. As presently drafted it would also require member states to designate authorities to map noise levels in local areas and develop noise action plans. Maps would be publicised locally and local people consulted in drawing up the action plans. The requirement for mapping and action plans would apply to major roads, railways and airports and urban agglomerations. Summary information would be collected by the European Commission and used to inform future Community noise policy. It would not be the purpose of this directive to place restrictions on sources of noise.
Hazardous Waste
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the adequacy of treatment and disposal facilities in place to handle hazardous water and waste banned from landfill under the forthcoming Landfill Regulations. [34488]
Mr. Meacher: The Department in conjunction with the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly has undertaken an assessment of the implications of the landfill directive for the future management of wastes banned from landfill.
The aims and objectives of the study were:
- to identify and evaluate the potential impact of the landfill directive on the management of hazardous wastes and liquid wastes in the UK, and
to identify and assess the alternative waste management options that may be available to ensure the continued safe management of wastes for which landfilling will be restricted under the landfill directive.
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diversion from landfill. It also suggested that additional facilities might be required for oily wastes, contaminated soils, and inorganic chemical wastes.
Copies of the study have been disseminated widely.
Chemicals (Controls)
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the proposals being prepared by the European Commission covering control of chemicals in household products. [34542]
Mr. Meacher: The European Commission presented a White Paper on a Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy in February last year. This proposes a new regulatory regime for chemicals used in household and other products. We have published the following assessments of it:
- an Explanatory Memorandum on the proposals (23 March 2001);
a partial Regulatory Impact Assessment (May 2001);
a report by the Institute for Environment and Health on the Testing Requirements for Proposals under the EC White Paper "Strategy for Future Chemicals Policy" (April 2001).
In June last year the UK and other member states agreed Council Conclusions endorsing the White Paper proposals. The conclusions called for the proposals to be strengthened in a number of respects. They emphasised the need for a more streamlined process to obtain the essential information required to speed up action on the chemicals of most concern and to phase out those that pose unacceptable risks with the minimum delay. Ministers also agreed that chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic and those that are very persistent and very bioaccumulative should be added to the list of chemicals of very high concern that will be subject to the most stringent controls.
Following the agreement of the Council Conclusions a number of working groups made up of stakeholders and representatives from member states were convened to consider in detail how the proposed regulatory system should operate. The Commission is now drawing up proposals for legislation and expects to publish draft proposals later this year.
GM Crops
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of farm- scale trials of GM herbicide tolerant crops is; and what the contribution to the cost from public funds is. [34478]
Mr. Meacher: The costs of the Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs) of Genetically Modified Herbicide Tolerant crops are shared between Government and the industry body SCIMAC.
SCIMAC are responsible for providing, managing and disposing of the crops grown on the test sites. I do not have information on these costs.
Government collectively meets the costs of the ecological studies carried out by the Research Consortium, which are expected to total about £5.38 million over the five years of the programme.
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Mercury Vapour
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the amount of mercury vapour emitted in each of the last five years by the burning of mercury (II) thiocyanate in pyrotechnic products. [34522]
Mr. Meacher: There is a wide range in estimates of the tonnage of fireworks used annually in the UK. However on current information our best estimate is that emissions of mercury from this source may be in the order of 150kg per annum.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the amount of mercury vapour emitted in each of the last five years by the detonation of caps in toy cap guns. [34524]
Mr. Meacher: Currently there is only limited data available on emissions of mercury from toy caps, but it is an area in which we are looking at ways to improve our estimates. Our current best estimate is that emissions from this source may be in the order of 150kg per annum.
Manufacture of 2,4,5-Trichlorophenol
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantity of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol was manufactured in the United Kingdom in the latest year for which figures are available. [34519]
Mr. Meacher: The Department has no records of the quantity of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol manufactured, but we believe it is no longer used (or manufactured) in the UK.
Ozone-Depleting Substances
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information she has collected on the (a) UK standards and (b) collected standards of the other EU countries on the recovery of ozone-depleting substances; and if she will make a statement. [34603]
Mr. Meacher: The Department published draft UK standards for the recovery of ozone depleting substances from fridges in December last year. These have been widely endorsed and are currently being worked into technical guidance by the Environment Agency. The draft UK standards drew heavily on work already under way with the United Nations (UN) TEAP Task Force and considered those standards and technology used elsewhere, including the German DIN and RAL standards.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how recovered ozone-depleting substances removed from the insulation foam from redundant refrigerators and freezers is to be disposed of; and if she will make a statement. [34604]
Mr. Meacher: Under Regulation 2037/2000 controlled ozone-depleting substances must be disposed of by technologies approved by the Parties (to the Montreal Protocol), or by any other environmentally acceptable destruction technology. These technologies include destruction by liquid injection incineration, reactor cracking, gaseous/fume oxidation, rotary kiln incinerators,
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cement kilns, municipal solid waste incinerators (for foams containing ODS) and radio frequency plasma destruction technology.
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